Could some one explain to me what the difference is between Novell Linux Desktop and Suse? The only obvious difference I could see is that NLD is GNOME based, while Suse is KDE.

Any insight is appreciated

Novell Desktop has both KDE and GNOME. It uses technologies from Suse, but has fewer packages compared to Suse because its aimed more at businesses/enterprise.

Ah, that makes sense. But I assume these extra packages can still be downloaded and installed via YaST?

Thanks!

Theoretically you can install them from a Suse rpm repository, but then again why not just use Suse if you need those extra packages.

Novell Linux Desktop "is" Suse Linux.

Whether its suse 9.1 or 9.2, is open for debate. = D

if you were a business that wanted to move to Linux, you would like NLD because you know you could get enterprise support from Novell!

I think NLD rocks!
Yes, it does have fewer packages.... but remember, its only trying to be a "Desktop"... hence the name. So it mainly has just the desktop packages.

but dont think of it as an inderior version. you'd defintely be mistaken. i am easily able to get it to do:
Primary Domain Controller (thanks to Samba 3.0 bundled in)
Dhcp server,
FTP Server,
IP Printing.

it wasnt able to be a web server by default. So i just downloaded and installed the three apache2 rpms, and
Voila,
Instant Webserver!


I have no complaints.
But the real reason i like NLD is because its So Polished! It has a very slick feel that will catch the eye.
its bundled with so much as well:
Firefox,
Gaim,
Kaffiene,
amaroK,
K3B,
Realplayer10,
Totem,
gimp,
gFTP (graphical ftp client),
and of course, OpenOffice 1.1.3

have you ever seen it??
http://69.136.139.248/~batman/nld.png
So Polished!

How did you get a copy.

Why NLD is free (currently).
You just have to pay for the support.
Of course, they have FREE support forums:
http://support.novell.com/forums/2nld.html


But anyways, if you want to download it, go here
http://www.novell.com/products/deskt...enu_nld_bottom
and click on TRY IT FREE on the right side.

you just have to register an account with them (again, FREE).
Its 3 ISOs in size.

But bewarned, you may have problems with realplayer10 = D

Do you have updates with that version since it seems to be for evaluation.

Updates? in what way?

Do you mean like Patches, and such?

Novell has their own Repository for that.... its part of their support.

is that what you mean?
Perhaps i should try pointing NLD to a regular Suse9x repository...

If you could post the links, i could plug it into SuseWatcher and see what it does....

Yeah, thats what I meant. So it means that you download and use the evaluation copy but can't get any updates unless you pay for the support. There are some security implications if you are connected to the web coz you can't get any patches. Anyway a few other distros do the same with their evaluation copies.

ah, i see.

Could you post one of the SUSE Repository links?

i'll try it out

Take a look at the Suse mirror list on the Suse website, I am not currently using Suse.

Well, actually, you can get a 30 day eval license, during which period you will get all updates and patches. After those 30 days, the software still works, but you won't get the updates anymore. This works the same for SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 9, and Open Enterprise server.

The difference between NLD and SUSE Professional is the following:

NLD is based on the SLES9 codebase. That means better tested code, less bleeding edge code and better integration with SLES9. As other posters pointed out, NLD is a corporate product, and SUSE Professional is a consumer product with the latest and greatest stuff from the open source communities. NLD has a predictable upgrade cycle, service packs and full Novell support. That is stuff corporations want. SUSE Professional has only best effort support.

Edoope,

Well said!! = D

do you think its possible to use the SUSE Mirror 9.x Repositories with NLD as a workaround to get those secirity patches & updates?

NLD is Suse-based, right?

No, that won't work, because NLD is based on SUSE Linux Enterprise server 9, and not on SUSE Professional 9.x.

By the way, SUSE Professional 9.3 has just been released.